All Hurricane Shelters Activated

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Wednesday, 22 August 2012 20:56

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John's - The National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) has activated all hurricane shelters across the twin-island state ahead of the passage of Tropical Storm Isaac.

NODS Director Philmore Mullin confirmed he had given the order for all 49 shelters to be open by 3 p.m.

"Based on the information from the Met Office the system has gotten stronger and closer to us. We have at this time no way of knowing the scale of impact and we're not taking any chances," Mullin said.

On Tuesday afternoon, NODS opened only 17 shelters, none of which had been utilised by residents up to 2:30 (Wednesday).

"What happened yesterday is that if we had waited until later to make the decision, it would have been too late. However, the system slowed down. We should have gotten hit at 3 a.m this morning," Mullin explained.

As a result, district coordinators informed people residing in flood-prone areas that there was no immediate need, at that time, to go to shelters.

To facilitate residents' preparation for the storm, government offices and businesses such as banks closed early causing long lines of traffic in some areas.

Similar reports have come out of Dominica where the prime minister advised residents to stay indoors though all emergency personnel and security officers were told to report to work on Wednesday.

Over in St Kitts, government offices and private companies also closed early.

Back on Antigua, the V C Bird International Airport was temporarily shutdown at 4:30 p.m.

"We have decided, after speaking with the Met Office, that it would close at 4:30; we are however going to reassess our position at daybreak tomorrow (Thursday) as to where the airport will reopen," acting Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Edward Gilkes told Caribarena.

The last flight to depart belonged to regional carrier LIAT, though several of its aircraft remained on the ground here up to 4 p.m.

LIAT has so far cancelled around 21 of its flights.

The state-owned Antigua Public Utilities Authority announced that it would cut all power ahead of the weather system's passage.

Earlier this afternoon, Tropical Storm Isaac was located about 95 miles east-southeast of Guadeloupe with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph. It was headed in a westerly direction at 21 mph.

A flash flood watch remains in effect. The Antigua & Barbuda Meteorological Services has said this could be upgraded to a warning at a moment's notice.



The NODS director said residents in the south of the island would feel the impact more than those on the northern side.

He issued a last minute appeal to residents.

"I would just like to ask people to take heed and be safe especially those in the low-lying areas," Mullin said.

Forecasters are also keeping their eyes on tropical depression #10 which is located about 860 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde islands.

Weather experts said it has a 100 per cent chance of developing into a storm in the next 48 hours.

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